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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — in golf
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. row — to paddle
  9. prune — to trim
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. degree — from a university
  12. spell — letters
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. chair — a leader
  17. degree — temperature
  18. hand — in cards
  19. degree — an amount
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. row — a line
  23. spell — magic
  24. prune — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com